Applications are open until March 21 at midnight so there is some urgency for interested students to respond.
Thank you in advance for your assistance!
Here are the details:
The UBC Sustainability Scholars Summer 2018 Program has several positions open for graduate students in a variety of areas including forestry, engineering, regional planning, architecture, science, applied science, business and more. Each position is for a total of 250 hours over the summer (part-time), for which the successful candidate will receive $5250.
Further information on the available internship projects can be found on our Student Opportunities web page. Applications close at midnight Wednesday March 21, 2018.
2018-08 Limiting the Energy Demands of New Homes
2018-19 LED street lighting business case
2018-26 Monitoring impacts of climate change on the forests of regional watersheds
2018-29 Assessing the performance of Metro Vancouver’s wood smoke forecasting tool
2018-31 Comparative Analysis of Organic Waste Processing Methods in Metro Vancouver
2018-32 Forest fungal pathogen management – best practices for Regional Parks
2018-34 Healthy Beverage Initiative research proposal development – UBC Okanagan
2018-44 Understanding impacts of climate change on street tree health
2018-65 Revising the methodology for calculating and reporting on GHG emissions from contracted services
2018-68 Supporting neighbourhood interest in energy-efficient homes
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Developing an understanding of how to limit the energy demands of new homes (posting # 2018-08)
This position is a great opportunity for a landscape (SALA), engineering, Applied Science, Science, or Sauder student to develop a model that would help the District of West Vancouver enhance community energy conservation and reduce GHG emissions from new single-family homes.
The Scholar will be directly involved in researching innovative practices utilized by leading jurisdictions, analyzing permits and new construction data, calculating potential energy savings, and identifying different pathways to meet targets and begin implementation.
The ideal candidate is analytical, has excellent research and writing skills along with GIS training or experience, and is familiar with building design, construction practices, Provincial regulation, and code requirements.
Developing a LED street lighting business case (posting #2018-19)
This projects is a great addition to a work portfolio/resume. The successful candidate will develop a business case on converting existing street lights over to LED. Engineering, Faculty of Science, Sauder, and Applied Science students are well suited for this project.
Although the work is for the Township of Langley, the Scholar has the option of working on-site or working remotely (except for some meetings and presentations).
This project is a great opportunity to understand street lighting technologies and best practices in other jurisdictions and to develop and stretch financial modelling/business case development skills. The ideal candidate is familiar with quantitative research methods, has strong communication skills and is able to demonstrate their interest in sustainability and energy reduction.
Monitoring the impacts of climate change on the forests in regional watersheds (posting #2018-26)
The purpose of this project is to add to the body of knowledge supporting understanding of the long-term climate change impact on watershed forests and how that effects water quality and water supply in Metro Vancouver.
The ideal candidate is studying or has taken courses on the coastal forest ecology of British Columbia and must be familiar with biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification, concepts of local (B.C.) adaptation to climate in tree populations, the capacity of forests to adapt to new climates, and resistance and resilience to biotic and abiotic disturbances. Working knowledge of ESRI GIS software is required.
Assessing the performance of Metro Vancouver’s wood smoke forecasting tool (posting #2018-29)
Metro Vancouver’s wood smoke forecasting tool provides guidance to residents about whether wood smoke from residential burning is likely to dissipate. Using data collected over the last few winters, the ideal candidate will assess the tool to ensure that it is sufficiently robust to reliably predict when residential word burning should be discouraged and when air quality is less likely to be affected by wood smoke.
This is a great opportunity for students with a background in or who have taken courses in meteorology to apply that knowledge to a practical application in support of improved air quality in the region.
The ideal candidate has strong quantitative analysis skills and is able to apply advanced statistical methods to the data. Bringing a good understanding of air quality meteorology, environmental data analysis, meteorological forecast models, and validation methods to the project will be key.
Comparative Analysis of Organic Waste Processing Methods in Metro Vancouver (posting #2018-31)
This project is a great opportunity for a student to make their mark by writing a literature review and making recommendations to Metro Vancouver on how they can improve their organic waste processing methods, particularly as they pertain to processing dog waste.
This project is ideal for students with a background in environmental science, microbiology, forestry or engineering. The ideal candidate has academic or practical experience in industrial composting and wastewater treatment.
This project requires good writing skills, so please include a writing sample with your application.
Forest fungal pathogen management – best practices for Regional Parks (posting #2018-32)
This interesting project is ideal for a students studying forestry, forest health, forest pathogens, and the effect of climate change on forests.
The successful candidate will undertake some field surveys to determine the extent and virulence of brittle cinder fungus in regional parks. This data will be used to prepare a distribution analysis, which will complement a literature review and discussion of the potential effect of climate change on spread of the disease. This is a great opportunity to add to your work and research portfolio as the Scholar’s recommendations on best management practices will be used in Regional Parks going forward.
This project requires good writing skills and working knowledge of GPS to develop a spatial database. Familiarity with fungal pathogen management and integrated pest management are assets.
Healthy Beverage Initiative research proposal development
This project is not discipline specific and will be of interest to students interested in health promotion and developing their research proposal development skills.
UBC’s Food and Nutrition Working group wants to understand ways to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption on campus and to promote consumption of other healthy beverages instead.
The successful candidate will prepare a literature review, develop a research ethics application, design the research methodology for the study, and prepare research tools.
The Scholar selected for this position must be willing to work at UBC Okanagan from April 30 through July 15. Finding on-campus or short term housing will be easier to achieve in Kelowna than it is in Vancouver.
Ideal candidates have a demonstrated interest in health and wellbeing, have excellent writing and research skills, and are familiar with community engagement principles and conducting focus group research.
Understanding impacts of climate change on street tree health (Posting #2018-44)
This project is a great opportunity for a soil or water science, forestry, or biology student with an interesting analysing the City of Vancouver’s existing data on tree age and species, soil type and condition, watering protocols, cause of death and other parameters, and performing field observations of the condition of newly planted trees. The project will also include a literature review and field tests of best management practices for understanding tree health that might include hydrometric data, infrared photography, and mycorrhizal amendments. The desired outcomes of the project include a characterization of how much, how often and for how many years newly planted trees should be watered and monitored as well as recommendations for monitoring and improved management practices.
In addition to experience conducting field research, the ideal candidate will have excellent research and writing skills, be familiar with quantitate research methods and analysis, and a demonstrated interest in urban forestry.
The successful candidate will be given access to a vehicle to help transport the equipment needed to do the field surveys, but they must have a valid class 5 driver’s licence.
Revising the methodology for calculating and reporting on greenhouse gas emissions from contracted services used by the City of Vancouver (posting #2018-65)
The City of Vancouver currently reports a subset of emissions from “contracted services” to the BC Ministry of Environment as part of its annual emissions-reporting requirements. Based on the required scope of this subset, and upon more detailed analysis of a few key contracts, the current figure likely underestimates the emissions associated with contracted services. Thus, the City may be missing an opportunity to drive significant reductions in GHG emissions through its procurement practices. A more accurate methodology for calculating contracted services emissions would allow the City to a) understand the strategic importance of suppliers as part of a corporate GHG reduction plan; and b) focus on contracts with the greatest impact
This project is a great opportunity for students that have academic or applied experience doing GHG reporting on construction projects and that are familiar with research methodologies and bench marking methods and tools. However, students lacking familiarity with GHG emissions, but with solid auditing skills would also do well in this project.
The ideal candidate is analytical, has a demonstrated interest in sustainability (ideally as it relates to construction projects), and has experience conducting stakeholder interviews. Past experience working on municipal infrastructure projects would be considered a strong asset.
Identifying innovative ways to support neighbourhood interest in energy-efficient homes (posting #2018–68)
Most buildings that will be consuming energy in future decades have already been constructed. The District of West Vancouver is interested in increasing the energy efficiency of existing homes in order to meet its community-wide conservation goals.
Building on utility and advocacy programs, the scholar will support the District in defining a new approach to energy conservation in the community.
This work will identify barriers to consumer behaviour and recommend how neighbourhood and social structures can be engaged to increase participation. Lessons learned and strategies identified are applicable to West Vancouver as well as to other communities across British Columbia and Canada.
This projects is well suited to students who are familiar with research methodologies and survey techniques; have community engagement experience and outreach skills; are comfortable interacting with the public to conduct surveys; and have excellent research and writing skills. Applicants with GIS training or experience and familiarity with home renovation are preferred.
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Karen Taylor
Program Manager | UBC Sustainability Initiative
The University of British Columbia
Room 2346, 2260 West Mall Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4
Phone 604 822-9362 | karen.taylor@ubc.ca | www.sustain.ubc.ca
